Houston erased a 19-point deficit before halftime in Phoenix and still finished with 99 points. Denver saw its 27-point lead over Indiana shrink to seven, then scored the next six. Monday brings those two teams together with Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray both questionable. Houston can buy time with its defense, but to build a lead it still has to make the stops count at the other end.
What Houston does with its stops
Phoenix made 16 of 21 shots in the first quarter and just four of 19 in the second. Houston closed the half on a 22–3 run, with Fred VanVleet scoring 10 in the quarter. The Rockets were tied again at 95 before Devin Booker scored seven straight in the 102–99 Suns win.
Houston earns an A on defense in our team grades and recently held Boston to 93 and Oklahoma City to 98. DraftKings had Houston favored by 8.5 on Monday morning. Houston has won by nine or more in five of its seven victories, but they scored 107 and 99 in their last two games, both losses. Watch whether the stops give Houston chances to score before Denver’s defense is set.
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Who can get Denver a basket when it needs one?
Jokić had 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in Denver’s 114–102 win over Indiana. Cameron Johnson scored 18 and Murray had 16. Jokić (elbow) and Murray (left shin contusion) are both listed as questionable. Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and DeMar DeRozan are also questionable, and Houston center Clint Capela is out with an ankle injury. Denver’s B+ offense has shown it can answer a run. Who’s available to set up those chances matters against Houston.
The same stops can lead to different totals
Three of Houston’s last four games finished below Monday’s 217.5. Five of Denver’s eight games this season finished above it, though the Indiana game ended at 216. Houston’s 119–98 win over Oklahoma City shows how the Rockets can build a comfortable margin without a high combined score. If Denver keeps finding baskets when Houston makes a run, it can keep the margin tight and make the total easier to reach.
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